Wade urges Ouattara to seek total peace

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) – The president of Senegal, Abdoulaye Wade, on Friday told his Ivorian counterpart, Alassane Dramane Ouattara, to ask his compatriots lay down their arms to contribute to the quick establishment of peace in their country.

Speaking in a joint conference at the end of his two-day visit to Senegal,
President Wade suggested to President Ouattara to ask for the pardon of the Ivorian people. He should also to think of his country’s youth, especially students.

President Wade urged his guest to launch a patriotic call to convince them to lay down arms which he could buy back back.

Cote d'Ivoire was thrown into a brief but bloody civil war after the controversial November 2010 run-off election that was claimed by both President Ouattara and former President Laurent Gbagbo.

According to the final communiqué of the visit, the Ivorian president invited President Wade to pay an official visit to Côte d’Ivoire.

During their talks, the two presidents highlighted the need to strengthen dialogue at all levels to turn the Dakar-Abidjan axis into “one of the driving forces behind West African integration”.

According to the communiqué, they expressed their willingness to work together towards the promotion of integration in West Africa through the strengthening of institutional, economic, commercial and monetary mechanisms within the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS.
-0- PANA COU/AAS/PAP/MA 13May2011